Category Archives: Ukulele Players

If the bustle and stress of city life is getting you down there is nothing like a change of scenery to refresh the spirit, especially were there are multitudes of ukuleles. That’s a good reason to head to the Dandenong Ranges for the Hills Ukulele Festival next weekend.

On Sunday May 19 at 11am Bayside Ukes will be playing on the main stage at Emerald Primary School. For more information see the previous post on this website.

Here’s a song to get you in the mood for a trip to the hills.

We’ll be packing our ukes for the misty mountains, up to hills where the ukulele spirit flies! Come and join us.

Tomorrow in Australia and New Zealand is Anzac Day when we remember those who gave their lives in wars. To commemorate this important event here are some song covers on ukulele that deal with various aspects of war.

The following songs were all written about the Vietnam conflict and are still relevant today.

I-Feel-Like-I’m Fixin’-to-Die Rag, by Country Joe and the Fish, with it’s wonderful use of dark humour, was made famous by their performance at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. The following cover sounds great on the baritone ukulele.

Pink Floyd’sUs and Them, from the album Dark Side of the Moon, is a powerful and haunting song about war. The following version has been adapted for the ukulele.

New Order’s song Love Vigilantes (1985) about a soldier longing to return to his family has been covered by other artists, but none are as poignant as this raw and emotional ukulele version. I think it says it all.

Ukuleles, since the beginning of the last century, have become a popular instrument for those in the Services and when we play some commemorative songs on Anzac Day we can remember them.

It is finally autumn in Melbourne after a long, long summer and the hottest March on record. Time for some ukulele songs that reflect summer’s passing. The following were all performed in Australia.

Probably the most famous song for this time of the year is Autumn Leaves. Here is a Jazzy version sung by Misty Henderson accompanied by ukulele and band at Uke Mullum in the northern NSW town of Mullumbimby.

A wonderful rock song with an Autumn theme and references to Lord of the Rings is Led Zeppelin’sRamble On. Hope you enjoy this fun and gutsy version by Adelaide group, The Wheatsheaf Ukulele Collective.

Finally, one of the most beautiful Autumn songs is Harvest Moon by Neil Young. This delightful version is performed by Californian Dani Joy overlooking Sydney Harbour on a lovely day in May. Hard to believe it is Autumn in some parts of Australia.

Whether it’s Autumn or Spring where you are, it is fun to play songs that reflect the seasons. I’m sure you have your favourites.

An exciting ukulele band from Grenoble, France, The Big Ukulele Syndicate, fill their performances with movement, fun and fantastic ukulele playing. Check out the following video and you will get the picture. They are so entertaining.

Their facebook page is in French, but here is the link for those who can read the language.

Summer is in full swing in Australia as we head into 2019, with extreme heatwaves affecting much of the country. For us lucky ones down south near the coast it has not been quite so hot, but there’s a scorcher in the forecast.

What better way than to celebrate the New Year with a scorching rock song. Here’s The The Australian Ukulele Showwith a blistering version of Thunderstruck by Aussie legends AC/DC accompanied by ukulele legend, Jake Shimabukuro at the Byron Blues Fest. Talk about generating some fireworks.

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year from Bayside Ukes and if it’s cold where you are generate your own heat with some smoking hot ukulele songs.

Bayside Ukes has finished its sessions for the year. We’ve had a great year with several performances, the most memorable being the Sandy Village Festival in October.

A big thank you to all our members for making 2018 such a wonderful, fun year. Your enthusiasm for the ukulele is what it is all about.

Thank you also to all those who have supported this blog. It’s great to have an audience of fellow Ukulele lovers.

Just for fun here are a couple of festive songs that are just made for the ukulele. The first is performed by the fabulous Memphis Ukulele Band. The chords can be found on the Doctor Uke website. The second, being typically Aussie, is just plain silly. For a link to the ukulele chords click here.